Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com.
BANKING
• Sunwest Bank, based in Sandy, has appointed Brian Barry as senior vice president and Arizona regional president. Barry will oversee the development and management of banking relationships across the state, driving profitability, aligning with strategic goals, and advancing key policies. Barry most recently served as senior vice president and market team leader for commercial banking at BOKF in Scottsdale, Arizona, since 2014. He began his financial services career in 1998 and has spent the majority of his career in commercial banking. Sunwest has operations in California, Arizona, Idaho, Utah and Florida.
HEALTH CARE
• Health Catalyst Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of data and analytics technology and services for the health care industry, has appointed Matt Arens as a member of the board of directors and announced that Matthew Kolb, a director since 2023, will not stand for re-election at the company’s 2026 annual meeting. Arens is CEO and founder of First Light Asset Management LLC. A shareholder since Health Catalyst’s IPO in 2019, First Light is the company’s largest shareholder, and First Light and Arens collectively own approximately 13.9 million shares of common stock, or approximately 19 percent of the company’s outstanding shares of common stock. Arens entered the investment field nearly 30 years ago, focused on identifying health care companies presenting unique opportunities for growth. He has managed dedicated health care portfolios for more than 15 years and serves as senior portfolio manager across all First Light investment strategies. Prior to founding First Light in 2013, Arens was president and senior portfolio manager at Kopp Investment Advisors, where he served as the sole portfolio manager for the firm’s health care-focused investment strategy.
• Light-Hope Diagnostics Inc., a Salt Lake City-based biotechnology research company, has hired Dr. Kenneth Ward as scientific and clinical advisor. Ward is board-certified in four specialties, has 40 years of experience in medical diagnostics and has launched over a dozen “first-use-in-humans” tests. Ward founded and directed the University of Utah DNA Diagnostic Laboratory and the Molecular Genetics Laboratory at ARUP Laboratories. He previously served as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and human genetics at the University of Utah; as chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at the University of Hawaii; as founder and CEO of Juneau Biosciences; and as co-founder and currently serving as the laboratory director of a molecular diagnostic laboratory at Slopes Bio Inc.
• PhotoPharmics, a Lehi-based clinical-stage medical device company developing photo-neuromodulation therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, has added James W. Tozer Jr. and Albert Agro to its board of directors. Tozer, a Series B director, is an investor, banker, real estate developer and corporate advisor with more than 30 years of operational and board experience. He is managing director and co-owner of Vectra Management Group, which he co-founded in 1993. Tozer is PhotoPharmics’ largest Series B investor and its second-largest investor overall. Agro, an independent director, is CEO of Jocasta Neuroscience Inc., advancing therapeutics for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Agro previously led clinical development at Cynapsus. He also held executive roles at Sublimity Therapeutics, GRI Bio, Ironshore Pharma, Trillium Therapeutics and others.
MANUFACTURING
• The board of directors of Utah Medical Products Inc., a Midvale-based developer, manufacturer and marketer of disposable and reusable specialty medical devices, has appointed Kevin C. Timken to the board. Timken served as the company’s outside legal counsel for over 20 years prior to his retirement this year. Timken graduated with a J.D. degree from the University of Utah College of Law in 1997.
• Little Giant, a Springville-based ladder manufacturer, has named Shawn McCarter as senior director of trade and Nathan Shaeffer as director of strategic commercial accounts. McCarter has a background in sales, including earning Top Sales Performance distinctions and the Samsung President’s Award, a recognition for vendors who deliver exceptional results and represent the brand with excellence. Shaeffer has a track record in sales and account growth, most recently serving as strategic account executive with HD Supply.
TECHNOLOGY
• Jake Neeley has been named as director of strategic investments at the Nucleus Institute, a cross-sector innovation catalyst that unites universities, industry, government and entrepreneurs. The role is designed to accelerate Nucleus’s mission by developing the investment and intellectual foundation for one of the institute’s initiatives, called Convergence Hall, which will be a campus at The Point that serves as the central hub for higher education, industry and government. Through Convergence Hall, the institute accelerates entrepreneurship by helping founders overcome early-stage hurdles such as funding, strategic partnerships and talent alignment.
• Ampetronic/Listen Technologies, based in Bluffdale, has promoted David Serpa to vice president of finance and Sam Burkinshaw to head of strategic business development and partnerships, and has hired Irene Kondos as global inside sales and customer success manager. Serpa works closely with the executive team to shape financial strategy and support growth initiatives. He drives forecasting, budgeting, and scenario-planning and ensures financial decisions are data-driven and aligned with the organization’s long-term goals. He mentors the finance team and collaborates with sales, operations and product leaders to drive results across the business. Previously, Serpa was the financial controller at Listen Technologies. In his new role, Burkinshaw works closely with marketing, product management, sales leadership and partners to shape go-to-market strategies and support the evolution of the full Ampetronic/Listen Technologies product portfolio. He also leads the exploration of new partnership opportunities and emerging technology collaborations. Previously, Burkinshaw served as head of business development. Kondos drives revenue growth, ensures outstanding customer interactions, and supports international partner engagement. She collaborates across functions, ensuring inside sales activities are aligned with company goals. Before joining the Listen Technologies and Ampetronic teams, Kondos led sales and business development for a company in the language industry, where she used and recommended Listen Technologies solutions to support interpretation and language distribution. Listen Technologies, a provider of advanced wireless listening solutions, and Ampetronic, a producer of hearing loop systems, are strategic partners that have combined their complementary assistive listening and communication solutions into one portfolio.